Writing assessments in the EFL context today have put a great concern on language acquisition and proficiency testing. However, diverse techniques and practices require a comprehensive synthesis to better understand trends, gaps, and best practices. This study reviews and synthesizes prior research on writing assessments in EFL contexts. It…

Providing both effective feedback applications and reliable assessment practices are two central issues in ESL/EFL writing instruction contexts. Giving individual feedback is very difficult in crowded classes as it requires a great amount of time and effort for instructors. Moreover, instructors likely employ inconsistent assessment procedures,…

In this meta-analysis, we examined whether children classified with specific language impairment (SLI) experience difficulties with writing. We included studies comparing children with SLI to (a) typically developing peers matched on age (k = 39 studies) and (b) typically developing younger peers with similar language capabilities (k = six…

There is a general consensus that writing is a challenging task for students with learning disabilities (LD). To identify more precisely the extent and depth of the challenges that these students experience with writing, the authors conducted a meta-analysis comparing the writing performance of students with LD to their typically achieving peers.…

The purpose of this report is to present a synthesis of the research on test accommodations published in 2015 and 2016. We summarize the research to review current research trends and enhance understanding of the implications of accommodations use in the development of future policy directions, to highlight implementation of current and new…

This report provides an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations as well as to identify promising future areas of research. Previous reports by NCEO have covered research published since 1999. We summarize the research to review current research trends and enhance understanding of the implications of accommodations use in the…

A report providing an update on the state of the research on testing accommodations as well as to identify promising future areas of research. Previous reports by NCEO have covered research published since 1999. NCEO summarizes the research to review current research trends and enhance understanding of the implications of accommodations use in the…

Considers the question of how best to elicit samples of writing for assessment in an English-for-academic-purposes proficiency test and assure that every test taker has something to write about. Three types of writing tasks are defined and analyzed, and examples are given. (25 references) (GLR)

English language learners (ELLs) were once expected to learn English before they learned critical content needed to succeed in school, but this is longer true, because now federal education laws require that ELLs be held to the same academic standards as other students. There are, however, requirements to assess and document progress on tests of…